Chill to the Bone
by 13bookworm
Summary: Clarion is still mad at Milori, even after three years. He has to win her back, but first he has to keep his powers in check, and for him that's not easy. Will Clarion be able to handle the truth once she finds out what his powers are doing to him? Or will he be the one losing it when he fins out what has been happening to her? AU modern. (Dewey is a doctor)
1. Chapter 1

"Thank you!" Clarion called to the cashier as she exited the grocery store with her hands full. It was a bright early morning in the city of New York and Clarion had to get her errands done, so she could grade her students tests. It was Saturday morning, but she had to work during the week, so this was her only time to do it, but first she had to get home. In order to do that she would have to carrying the huge awkward bags five blocks down the crowded city streets.

Clarion started down the street, but there were so many people and every second of the day was rush hour in this big city. Someone bumped into her causing a loaf of bread to tumble out of a bag. "Hey, watch it!" the person screeched. Clarion let out a sigh, seeing her warm breath hit the freezing cold air. She tried to pick up the bread, but it was hard to do without dropping her other things.

"I'll get it," a hand reached down past hers to pick it up.

"Thank you, I've been having a pretty rough day, and-" Clarion stood back up only to make sudden eye contact with non other than Milori, her ex-boyfriend, whom she had dated during her freshman year of college and his senior. "You!"

"Here's the bread." He tried handing it to her, but she swatted away his hand.

"You can keep it!" she snapped at him. Clarion started walking against the crowd on her way home again.

"Clarion!" she could hear him yelling. Milori tried to push his way through the wave of people, and catch up to her. He trotted up to her, out of breath. "Clarion…"

"I don't want to hear it!" She stormed onward.

He grabbed her by the shoulder, "Would you at least let me explain?"

She froze, a sudden memory flashed through her mind at the sudden contact he had made. It felt like he was pinning her to the wall and kissing her neck. Her neck felt like it was being decorated with snowflakes against her steaming skin. Clarion let out a shudder and she realized that Milori was now standing in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just a little cold. Just like when we were dating!"

Obviously she was still angry with him, but that was going to stop him from at least trying to be nice, "Let me hold those for you."

"I am perfectly capable of carrying my own groceries!"

"You are freezing cold! With your hands free you can at least warm yourself up. The cold doesn't bother me anyway."

She let out a huff and handed him the bags before shoving her hands into her pockets. He smiled and gladly took the groceries, "Where do you live?"

"15 Carol St."

"Then we'll take the bus."

She rolled her eyes and followed him down the sidewalk. They spent ten minutes standing at the bus stop, slowly getting covered in snow, and Clarion's patiences quickly wearing thin. The Peter Pan bus came to a screeching stop and the doors opened with a thud. Many citizens trampled each other onto the bus, but Milori waited and then proceeded to allow Clarion on before him. He made his way onto the bus and tossed a handful of change that would cover the both of them.

Clarion sat towards the back and Milori set the groceries down beside her. He then sat down in the seat across from her, because he knew she was still angry with him. They sat in silence for a while as the bus made stop after stop. At one point a couple made their way onto the bus, there were no seats for them to sit together, but the woman was obviously pregnant and only a few weeks away from birth. Many of the passengers huffed and ignored them when they asked that they please move their things that occupied the seat next to them.

Milori on the other hand had nothing beside him, so he stood up and offered them his seat. "There is an open seat here!"

The two got to the back and the woman sat down, "Thank you, sir. Please, sit. I can stand."

"No I insist, you sit with your wife. I have no reason to sit."

"Thank you, sir. How can I repay you?"

"Your thanks is enough."

The man sat down and Milori held onto the pole of another chair and the bus started up again. As it continued back into busy traffic, Clarion stared up at Milori. He was still the kindest man in New York. Even through college he was nice. He never yelled at anyone, especially at the girls that flirted with him. Clarion thought that he just found them amusing the way that would try to commercialize themselves, but the part that he really liked about it was seeing Clarion get jealous of all the girls that would always surround him. Milori single handedly was the most popular guy in school and the girls there would do anything to date him.

Those girls would try so hard, but Clarion didn't have to try at all. In fact it was like he was the one trying hard to to get her attention. It started off when she got a job at the Columbia University Cafe on campus. They had burgers and sandwiches, along with coffee. It was two weeks into the first semester and Clarion had her first day of work. As she went around collecting dishes some upperclassmen stared at her, specifically her butt. "Woo hoo! Fresh meat!" one of them howled.

"We got a hot one tonight!"

Clarion let out a disgusted sigh and went on cleaning the tables, "Pigs."

She went on to the next table and someone stepped in front of her. "Hey, sexy. How would you feel about spending the night with me or one of my bros."

"Hmm, let me think, never in a million years!" she walked off.

He let out a huff and kicked a mop bucket in her direction, causing her to trip and fall. There was water everywhere and everyone was laughing. Clarion felt so embarrassed and wanted to cry. Then a hand was placed on her shoulder and a man knelt down beside her, "Are you alright? Let me help you." He held his hand out to her and helped her back to her feet. Before her was a tall, handsome man with a kind smile on his face. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her.

"Hey! What's going on out here?" a man demanded as he came out of the kitchen. Oswald, the cook and the one who hired Clarion.

"There seems to have been an accident involving your new employee and a mop bucket, I was just going to take her home. I'll be back to take care of the mess."

"No, don't worry about it I'll take care of it, Mr. Wintrix."

"Thank you."

Clarion was taken outside, "Who are you? Are you a teacher?"

"Milori Wintrix, and no I am not a teacher. I'm a student here at the college, part of this year's graduating class. You?"

"Clarion Ree, freshman year."

"Ah, where are we headed?"

"Wait, you were serious? You're actually going to take me home."

"Well of course, I need that jacket and I'm not going to make you walk alone in soaked clothes."

"Furnald Hall… and thanks, for what you did back there."

"Your welcome." They started walking down the sidewalk in the street lamp light. "You know, for a freshman, you've got a lot of courage for standing up to those guys."

"Why's that?"

"Because the average freshman would have been all over them in an instant."

"Well obviously I am not the average freshman because I actually have standards."

"And these standards would be?"

She smiled and glanced up at him, "Well for one, he has to be tall. Nice hair. Likes wearing suits. And a total prince charming."

"A prince charming, as in someone who would treat you like a queen?"

"I would hope so. Well, here we are."

"It would appear so. Furnald Hall."

"Thanks, again," she kissed his cheek and he smiled.

Clarion started walking off, but Milori grabbed her hand. She turned back and he lifted her hand and kissed it, "Your highness." He had said this with a smirk on his face.

**Notes: This fic will be written alongside it's prequel Columbia University, which includes in depth parts of flashbacks.**

**Next Chapter: They make their way to Clarion's apartment, but what will she say when he asks her out on a date?**


	2. Chapter 2

Milori watched her with such intensity as she went to unlock the door to her apartment. She seemed to be struggling, but that might be because he was standing right behind her. Clarion let out a frustrated sigh and turned to him, "You know what it's okay, you don't have to come inside. You can just leave the groceries here and I'll take care of them. I'll just be locked out for a few hours and have to wait until the landlord comes."

He shot her a smirk as he put down the groceries, "May I?" Milori held his hand out to her, implying that if she would give him the keys he could magically open the door. Wanting to be amused somewhat, Clarion handed him the keys. Milori put the key into the lock and jiggled it a little before he heard a click. He then simply turned the key and opened the door.

"I hate you," she muttered as she stepped inside. Milori picked up the groceries and handed them to her as she went and put them on the counter. He remained standing in the doorway. Within moments she was standing in front of him once more. "Thank you, really." She kissed his cheek.

Suddenly the door next to the apartment next door

across the hallway started to open and Clarion's face turned to pure fear, "Oh no!"

"What's wrong? Who is that?"

"Kiss me!"

"What?" He turned to see the door opening.

She grabbed his shoulders. "Everything is okay, I promise, but you have to trust me."

Milori could hear the door behind them opening and suddenly their lips pressed into each other's. His arms instinctively wrapped around her waist as he kissed her intensely. He could feel her fingers teething through his hair.

"Hey, Clarion, is everything okay. I heard you were locked out of your house again. I wasn't waiting until you got home or anything, it's just-" the man who came outside suddenly looked up from the mail he was sifting through at the sound of Clarion moaning, "Oh, you have a guest, I'm sorry. I'll just go." He went back inside his apartment.

Clarion parted her lips from Milori's, "Is he gone?"

He looked out of the corner of his eye, "Yes. Now what was that about?"

"Let's talk about this inside," she pulled him into the apartment.

Milori sat down in one of the chairs and watched her unload groceries and put them away. "Need any help with that?"

"No..." This was very awkward, beyond awkward actually considering you could almost literally feel the awkwardness suffocating them. It had been three years since they even talked to each other, let alone saw one another. The stunt they pulled out in the hallway a moment ago didn't help much either. For two people who had once planned on getting married and ended up breaking it off for three years only to have a make out session in front of a complete stranger outside an apartment, things couldn't possibly get any worse.

"Clarion? Who was that, across the hall I mean?"

"My neighbor, Steve. He's a bit of a creep, but there's no where else for me to live, because my pay is so low. My dream was to work at a high school and to help teenagers follow their dreams, but the school is going through budget cuts and it was either quit or deal with the low pay. I barely have enough money to pay rent, bills, and for food! I am a failure!" She put her head in her hands and began to cry.

Milori got up and hugged her, "You're not a failure, life is just hard."

Clarion turned and cried into his chest, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry about all of this! I'm sorry about Steve and kissing you without too much warning or reason! And I'm sorry for yelling at you all those years ago! It was the biggest mistake of my life and-" She suddenly turned away from him and ran to the sink. Clarion gagged before throwing up her lunch. Her body shook ferociously and Milori grabbed her sides to steady her. He also held back her hair.

"Do you still, you know," he was interrupted by her vomiting once more, "that, when you get stressed?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Okay, hold on."

"What choice do I have?"

He rummaged through the kitchen drawers searching for a wash cloth and a bowl. Milori handed her the bowl, "Hold this!"

"Wait, what! Why do you want me to-" she vomited in the bowl.

"That's why." He turned on the sink and waited a moment until it warmed up. When he checked it with his hand, Milori pulled back quickly, almost burning it. Quickly, he soaked the cloth and wrung it out. The first time this happened, years ago when they were in college, Milori had looked up what to do in this situation and he's remembered it since. Now that everything was ready, he'd have to get permission from her to continue... "Clarion, uh, I, uh-"

"Get to the point!" she whined.

"I'm going to have to hold this cloth to your stomach, are you okay with this?"

"If it makes me feel better, then yes."

Milori stood behind her and partially lifted up the front of her shirt. He placed the warm cloth against her stomach and the tension left her body. She shuddered and her legs gave out. Clarion dropped to the floor, causing her to practically smack her head off the tile floor.

"Clarion!" Milori nearly screamed as he knelt down to the floor beside her.

She jumped at the loudness of his voice. Her head was throbbing causing her to groan in pain, "Ow!" Clarion rubbed the back of her head and attempted to push herself up off the ground. "I fell, didn't I?"

Milori took her hand and pulled her carefully back to her feet, "Yes, now don't ever scare me like that again!"

"I'm sorry it's just when I get stressed I get sick and when I get sick I sometimes blackout..." She wobbled slightly and his grip around her body tightened. Milori picked her up and carried her over to the couch. Otherwise she wouldn't have been able to stand, well in you call that standing, much longer. When he set her down Clarion spoke once more "I have a medication that makes it so I don't get sick, it's in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom."

Milori nodded and went to go find the medication. He entered the bathroom and looked into the medicines cabinet. Right there was the medication in a bright orange tube. He brought the tube to Clarion and she took out two baby aspirin sized pills. "Do you need any water?"

"No," she replied as she swallowed the two pills, "The water will make me sick again."

"Okay, so you'll be alright here then, if I leave?"

"Yes, but where are you going?"

"What? Are you going to miss me?"

"No!" she scoffed.

"Okay, well I'm here in New York for a while and I was wondering if you'd be willing to go on a date with me?"

"Milori, look, I'm glad you were here for me, but we both remember how things ended between us-"

He stared at her with big puppy dog eyes.

"Fine, one date. That's it!"

"Good, I'll see you later then." Milori then walked out the door, leaving Clarion alone in her apartment, lying on the couch. Eventually she dozed off to sleep, dreaming of the night she and Milori had met.


End file.
